Dogon Tellem figure
Sacrifices in Dogon Tellem African art
Impressive Dogon or Tellem statue depicting a kneeling character, a classic posture in this artistic corpus. The hands are placed on the knees and the head is flattened. The real highlight of this piece is its thick inlaid, crusty patina, completely hiding the original sculpture.
This encrusted patina is the result of a large number of libations of chicken or goat blood and cream of millet made above an altar located at the entrance of a cave in the cliffs of Bandiagara, in the flickering light. of a fire. The sacrifice took place in three stages: first the identification of the supplicant, then of his illness and finally a request for intervention from the spirit world in order to find a solution to the problem.
Certain statues enjoyed such a reputation in the therapeutic context, for example, that one could come from distant villages to offer her a sacrifice in order to be treated by her. In view of the thick ritual patina that covers this figure, one can imagine that it was granted great effectiveness.
02145
Data sheet
- Size
- 44 cm
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood, sacrificial materials
- Country
- Stand
- Included
- Condition
- Excellent
You might also like
Sacrifices in Dogon Tellem African art
Impressive Dogon or Tellem statue depicting a kneeling character, a classic posture in this artistic corpus. The hands are placed on the knees and the head is flattened. The real highlight of this piece is its thick inlaid, crusty patina, completely hiding the original sculpture.
This encrusted patina is the result of a large number of libations of chicken or goat blood and cream of millet made above an altar located at the entrance of a cave in the cliffs of Bandiagara, in the flickering light. of a fire. The sacrifice took place in three stages: first the identification of the supplicant, then of his illness and finally a request for intervention from the spirit world in order to find a solution to the problem.
Certain statues enjoyed such a reputation in the therapeutic context, for example, that one could come from distant villages to offer her a sacrifice in order to be treated by her. In view of the thick ritual patina that covers this figure, one can imagine that it was granted great effectiveness.